Forget Burke & Tallon's tactics....and the "consensus in the media. Gillis has a significant and rare asset on his hands and would be a fool to flip Luongo merely to forgo the inevitable media circus and to free up cap space. Why should he do Burke any favours based on the Leafs petty actions in recent years past (tampering w/ the Sedins etc). Acquiring Luongo all but guarantees they at least make the playoffs. That means playoff revenue and franchise credibility. That equates to sizeable value. The Panthers are already there and all they need is an improvement in goal to be a contender in the east. That also has sizeable value. To think they have Gillis bent over a barrel is an insult. The media should get it out of their head as well.

Now Luongo's contract is a negative for sure but it hardly negates his worth. Perhaps a bad contract has to come back in return, but that would mean it should then be a fair hockey trade. Certainly Luongo's worth is some combination of draft picks and solid prospects (which as we well know is always a gamble).

If Brodeur moves on and Jersey sorts out their ownership/debt issues then they are a very interesting trading partner. The other X factor is, going into the season with Luongo & Schneider sharing starts with the understanding that a trade will be worked out as soon as something fair comes along. Its almost a certainty that a goalie somewhere (on a contender) will either get injured or falter...at that point a team could come calling looking for immediate help. Things can chance fast so its fantastic to see Gillis hold out for another GM to blink and realize that they need an upgrade or their own job could be on the line.

The last draft was not deep so kudos for GMMG not caving into to media pressure & throwing Luongo out the door like a kid on top of the playground slide yelling "scramble"!

Clam, I agree with your thoughts on Luongo's added value to the Leaves and Panthers.

I still can not fathom how anyone believe Roberto's contract is a negative. The advantageous nature of that contract was the reason it was reviewed by the league and the league later added restraints on long term contracts. The financial terms, the length of term, the cap hit, the out clauses, Roberto's age and how these are mated makes this a very fair deal.

I have a hard time buying the argument that teams will come calling due to injury or poor performance issues during the season. We have seen this scenario repeatedly and it does not pan out the way you have envisioned. Notably in Vancouver was Cloutier's injury when we went the year with Auld. Again when Roberto suffered a groin pull and we endured with a backup for six weeks. During both these instances, we were told there were options out there and discussions took place, but the price was never reasonable.

The off season, when the cap can be manipulated, is the time to do these major deals. This seems even more the case, and I don't know why, for goaltenders. True that cap allows for injury relief, however, there is always the question, what do you do when the injury is healed?

Seems to me BB lack of ability to find a goalie makes him a sure bet to some day end up as a scout for the Flyers. In Vcr he praised and saddled us with Cloutier and Potvin. Then he waived Bryzgalov from Anaheim in his prime tried to resurrect the careers of Giguère , Gerber , and now wants to rest his career on Reimer, let go the Future of the Franchise "The Monster" on and on and on.

If he fails to find a genuine goalie this season and fails to make the play-offs yet again he's out of work. He's gun shy to trading a draft pick thanks to his blunder with Kessels/Boston.

So will he pick up Luongo, put me down as doubtful BB history tells us he doesn't have a clue about goalies. I see he bought out Coby Armstrong today

Hey Topper, great point about the contract. I probably should have stated it is seen as a negative by many....mostly in the media (parroting each other as per usual)...but I thought it was a brilliant (if not questionable) contract in terms of keeping the cap hit low and the fact Lu never would have played it out for a million per. Not sure if the CBA would mean the team would be on the hook for the remainder cap hit (on retirement) or not considering his age when signed etc. For a starter, the cap hit is completely reasonable. Its certainly a negative in terms of overall money owed ($48mill or so) if a team like the Devils was involved (so much uncertainty there).

Fred, the fact Burke says he is happy with his current goaltending situation should be enough for ownership and Leaf fans to set their hair on fire. Total goaltending fail. Some people clearly don't learn from their past mistakes. Perhaps he should consult more w/ Nonis on the issue and, more importantly, Francois Allaire.

Fred, the Bryz deal out of Anaheim was a promise Burke made to the 'tender. He was told there would be an attempt to move him and if not he'd be put on waivers so he could get the starting job he wanted and at the time, likely deserved.

Burke was hoping for a scenario like what Clam outlined, a team needing a #1 due to injury/poor performance, but couldn't get a deal done.

Topper wrote:Fred, the Bryz deal out of Anaheim was a promise Burke made to the 'tender. He was told there would be an attempt to move him and if not he'd be put on waivers so he could get the starting job he wanted and at the time, likely deserved.

Burke was hoping for a scenario like what Clam outlined, a team needing a #1 due to injury/poor performance, but couldn't get a deal done.

ClamRussel wrote:Hey Topper, great point about the contract. I probably should have stated it is seen as a negative by many....mostly in the media (parroting each other as per usual)...but I thought it was a brilliant (if not questionable) contract in terms of keeping the cap hit low and the fact Lu never would have played it out for a million per. Not sure if the CBA would mean the team would be on the hook for the remainder cap hit (on retirement) or not considering his age when signed etc. For a starter, the cap hit is completely reasonable. Its certainly a negative in terms of overall money owed ($48mill or so) if a team like the Devils was involved (so much uncertainty there).

Fred, the fact Burke says he is happy with his current goaltending situation should be enough for ownership and Leaf fans to set their hair on fire. Total goaltending fail. Some people clearly don't learn from their past mistakes. Perhaps he should consult more w/ Nonis on the issue and, more importantly, Francois Allaire.

I think when he retires the contract/cap disappear. He was young enough when signed for that to happen which again is one reason why it happened.

Hockey Widow wrote:I think when he retires the contract/cap disappear. He was young enough when signed for that to happen which again is one reason why it happened.

My understanding is that contracts that are signed when the player is 35+ stay on the cap in the event that said player retires prior to the expiration of the contract.

The thing with Burke is that his ego is bigger than his freaking head.

He likely is gun shy since the debacle that was and still is the infamous Kessel trade. He also likely has a grudge against the Canucks in general after being let go, and the bad blood between him and Gillis doesn't help.

I still cannot understand how a guy like Luongo, who has a fair contract and is all but guaranteed to post 30-35 wins on almost any team, is apparently worth less than Phil Kessel was in Burke's eyes (two first round draft picks).

IMO, Luongo is worth a blue chip prospect or a high first round pick at the least. The Toronto media is saying that Gillis' asking price is too high, but I think the more likely scenario is that we are being low balled and Clam is right that Gillis shouldn't be in any rush to make a trade. In August when Tallon and Burke (and maybe others) are looking at their roster and get a bit nervous about their crap goaltending they may be a bit more willing to make a reasonable deal.

I suspect the CBA talks have a large effect on when a deal will be put in place. If things get ugly, the pressure of doing a deal in the immediate disappear for Burke and Talon and whoever else is interested. The tone of those negotiations will be known soon enough.

That said, if either GM truly covets Roberto, the sooner the deal is done, the less chance of someone else scooping him from under their nose is.

ClamRussel wrote:Acquiring Luongo all but guarantees (the Leaves) at least make the playoffs. That means playoff revenue and franchise credibility. That equates to sizeable value. The Panthers are already there and all they need is an improvement in goal to be a contender in the east. That also has sizeable value. To think they have Gillis bent over a barrel is an insult. The media should get it out of their head as well.

ClamRussel wrote:Not sure if the CBA would mean the team would be on the hook for the remainder cap hit (on retirement)

Nope (part of the beauty of that contract).

ClamRussel wrote:For a starter, the cap hit is completely reasonable. Its certainly a negative in terms of overall money owed ($48mill or so) if a team like the Devils was involved (so much uncertainty there).

It's likely Lou plays 6 more seasons max ($40mil or so).

ClamRussel wrote:Fred, the fact Burke says he is happy with his current goaltending situation should be enough for ownership and Leaf fans to set their hair on fire.

I wouldn't piss on a Leaf fan if his hair was on fire... or if he was just stung by a jellyfish.

Sorry Clambake, my patience is really running thin for Gillis. The guy is just too fucking boring when it comes to bold moves or at least adding some 'significant' pieces to make this his team instead of hiding behind the team that the previous management built. I'm sorry but re-signing Canuck players is not major feat, half the work is already done. Also, the middling acquirings of the Booths, Ballards, Higgins, Malhotra's, Berniers, Sundin's is just boring as shit and ain't cutting it. His drafting is dreadful. 5 drafts and still nothing to show for. I highly doubt Jensen is making the club this year.

I guarantee you Gillis played hardball in his pitch to Schultz cause if memory serves me correct, Gillis was highly critical of Nonis chasing of Fabian Brunnstrum whatever his name was.

What I would like from Gillis is some fucking gonads, some brass fucking balls. Make a fucking splash for fuck sakes and stop sitting on the fence. It's time for him to get all Holmgren like and make some real fucking deals. I ain't gonna get excited for the P.A. Parenteaus' of the world. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. The core of this team is fucking stale, it's to hack and slash and re-freshen the core of this team.

Sorry Clam, not on board with ya. Gillis is not doing the right thing. When the Sedins start fizzling in a year or two, when they are in that 33 year old range, weez in big trouble here. This team goes when the Sedin's go, what's replacing that? Kassian, Jensen, Gaunce, Schroeder? Um...no. Ain't happening.

"I just want to say one word to you. Just one word. Are you listening? - Plastics." - The Graduate